A Bill To Allow Essential Workers Vote Early In Election Passes Second Reading In Senate
Abuja (Core Reporters) The Nigerian Senate on Thursday began a process to amend the Electoral Act that will provide opportunities for Nigerians on essential duties to perform their franchise rights of voting early at elections.
The Bill sponsored by Senator Abdulaziz Musa Yar’adua (Katsina Central) seek to amend the Electoral Act No. 13, 2022, to provide for early voting at elections, including criteria for eligibility, procedure at the elections and for other related matters, 2025 (SB. 412) scaled second reading.
The Deputy Senate President, Jibrin I. Barau, (Kano North) who presided over plenary, referred the bill to the Senate Committee on Electoral Matters for further legislative action and report back in four weeks.
However, in his lead debate on the general principles of the bill, Senator Yar’adua,noted that the bill sought to enfranchise a significant group of Nigerians, said, “Who, due to the nature of their duties on election days, are denied the opportunity to exercise their most fundamental democratic right: the right to vote.”
Yar’adua disclosed that the bill was read for the first time on Wednesday, May 15, 2024, stressing that in any democratic process, equal opportunity must be given to all citizens to participate in elections regardless of their gender, ethnicity, religion, occupation or socioeconomic status.
He said, “This ensures the true reflection of the will of the people, thereby enhancing the stability of the democratic process.
“Unfortunately, a huge number of Nigerians who are involved in making Nigeria’s elections a success are excluded from the crucial decision-making of choosing their leaders through the ballot.”
noted that over one million citizens who play critical roles in ensuring the smooth conduct of the elections are disenfranchised said, “These include INEC officials, including ad hoc staff, the security personnel, journalists, observers and others who work on election day to uphold the integrity of the process are effectively denied their right to vote.
“This is because they are deployed to polling units far from where they registered.
“This is an irony that should not be lost on us, and this bill seeks to correct that by making provision for early voting for such citizens.”
Senator Yar’adua, pointed out that the number of those excluded from voting could change the outcomes of election results, saying, “This bill is a necessity to address the disenfranchisement of eligible voters.
“As lawmakers, it is our duty to ensure that every Nigerian citizen, regardless of their profession or duty on election day, has the opportunity to participate fully in the electoral process.
“Incorporating early voting in our electoral legal framework shall strengthen universal adult suffrage, as our Constitution guarantees every eligible Nigerian the right to vote.”
He added that the bill, when passed, will improve Nigeria’s electoral system, aligning it with international best practices.
In his contribution, Senator Jimoh Ibrahim, APC, Ondo South, who noted that exclusion of anyone from voting is “terrible to democracy, said, “The bill seeks to reduce the lacuna between our electoral process that disenfranchises some of our citizens.”
Also, Senate Minority Leader Sen. Abba Moro, PDP, Benue South, said that “if we can unbundle the voting arrangements on election day, it will ease our work.”
